The book reveals a strong humanist heritage which renders Darwin¿s theory of song and poetic language far more nuanced and interesting than a monolithic ¿singing for sex¿ hypothesis.

Introduction
1. Competitive Courtship and Aesthetic Judgment/Choice: Darwin¿s Model of the Arts
2. The Arts as Promoters of Social Cooperation and Cohesion
3. Engagement in the Arts as Ontogenetic Self-(Trans-)Formation
4. A Cooptation Model of the Evolution of the Human Arts: The Special Role of Play Behavior, Technology, and Symbolic Cognition

Bibliography
Index